Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that the government may review an estimated 50 million pending cases relating to minor offences following the passage of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, encouraging prosecutors to seek closure of such cases under the new framework.
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Goyal also urged states to undertake similar reforms, noting that 12 states have already introduced their own versions of Jan Vishwas legislation to decriminalise minor offences under state laws, and encouraged others to follow.

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Goyal said the government’s objective was to move away from criminal punishment in cases where there was no mens rea — or deliberate intent to break the law — and instead adopt a compliance-based enforcement approach

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In such cases, regulators could issue warnings, improvement notices or impose small penalties, which may escalate if violations are repeated, he said. Criminal prosecution would be reserved for serious offences that cause harm to the public, specific sections of society, or public property.